CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2008
| Author | Arkilic, Ayca Zekiye |
|---|---|
| Title | The Romani Mobilization in Turkey |
| Summary | This thesis seeks to explore the reasons of the weakness of the Turkish Romani mobilization and the factors which spur or hinder this mobilization. In so doing, I analyze the impact of the domestic political opportunity structure and the supranational political opportunity structure (the EU) on the Romani mobilization in Turkey. I also examine the framing done by the Turkish Romani leaders to find out the intrinsic reasons of the weakness of this mobilization. This research relies on in-depth interviews conducted with five Romani leaders and four experts. These interviews were conducted in Edirne, Izmir, Istanbul and Budapest in April 2008. Moreover, although this thesis focuses on the Turkish Roma, a brief comparison of the Romani mobilization in Turkey with the Romani mobilization in Hungary is included. Thus, by looking at a strong case, I aim to display why the Turkish Romani mobilization is weak. I argue that the Turkish legislation on minorities is the main threat hindering this mobilization whereas urban renovation projects appear as an opportunity since they lead to a sense of solidarity among the Roma. Furthermore, the EU acts as both an opportunity and threat to the Turkish Romani mobilization. Based on the framings of the Romani leaders, I conclude that lack of education, lack of experience, prejudices, lack of solidarity, financial problems, organizational fragmentation, clashes in framings, and the fact that they identify themselves primarily as Turk constitute the main factors explaining the weakness of the Romani mobilization in Turkey. |
| Supervisor | Fumagalli Matteo |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2008/arkilic_ayca.pdf |
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